Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Review | No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan

When radio presenter Anna Graves and her baby are attacked on the beach by a crazed teenager, Anna reacts instinctively to protect her daughter.

But her life falls apart when the schoolboy dies from his injuries. The police believe Anna’s story, until the autopsy results reveal something more sinister.

A frenzied media attack sends Anna into a spiral of self-doubt. Her precarious mental state is further threatened when she receives a chilling message from someone claiming to be the ‘Ophelia Killer’, responsible for a series of murders twenty years ago.

Is Anna as innocent as she claims? And is murder forgiveable, if committed to save your child’s life…?

Back last year I dived into My Sisters Secret by Tracy Buchanan - It made my top books of 2015 and was the one I recommended to everyone! It was so descriptive and captivating that when I saw Tracy had a new release out this year, it immediately made it's way onto my wish list. You can catch up with my review of My Sisters Secret here.

Although crime books aren't usually my thing, when No Turning Back landed through my letterbox, I just knew I had to pick it up.

I'll be honest, there was a patch around the 25% where I thought that this really wasn't for me, but once again, Tracy's writing style completely pulled me in and I was once again lost in her fictional world.

What we know about the book from the synopsis is that Anna, a well loved local radio presenter, protects herself and young daughter Joni, in an encounter on the beach with a school boy. Unfortunately the young lad dies and Anna is released with the case being thought of as one of a simple self defence act.

Soon after, things aren't as they seem and Anna is hunted by the police and the press - what I can't tell you for fear of spoilers is the out come, but let me tell you now - I didn't predict that one!

No Turning Back has plenty of twists and turns as we embark on Anna's journey to uncover the truth of what not only happened 20 years ago, but of what is happening now. At points she doesn't know who to trust and everything she loves is threatened to come to an end.

No Turning Back reminded me a little of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty in the sense that we almost had the conclusion at the start of the book and throughout we go on a journey, being given snippets of the past but all along not knowing the full truth or who done exactly what not being revealed until the very end.

Although I've seen this classed as a crime book, it had a great mysterious depth too it and every time I thought I had worked something out, I was thrown a curveball which made me doubt myself - I even doubted everything I knew about the main character, Anna, at one point!

Once again Tracy Buchanan has delivered another fabulous and gripping novel that had me wondering and page turning until the very end!